I'm am fascinated by the relationship between people and the natural world. Everything informs everything else - there are no boxes, just life.

Sunday, 19 May 2013

Pause For Thought - Vanessa Feltz, Radio 2

Theme of Freedom of Speech - Broadcast May 2013

Winter walks with my dog can be quite a chore to be honest,
especially this year when I wish I’d been as cold and rain adapted as a polar
bear. But on a few occasions I have been
quite literally stopped in my tracks by a singing tree. I walk Flip – that’s my
dog – on open parkland in Bristol and there are many trees dotted around. Sometimes one of them sings so loudly and so
beautifully a small group of us gather round the trunk just to listen.

At first it is hard to see what is making the noise as the
tree is tall and the leafless branches are silhouetted against a pewter sky –
so picking out detail is hard. But then
small shapes start hopping around and you begin to see that the tree is alive
with birds, all of them singing their little hearts out. It really is magical - a singing, ringing
tree. Birds often flock together in the
winter – tits, thrushes and starlings can form quite large groups – and it can
be like listening to a heavenly orchestra that decides to brighten up a dark
day. Like any orchestra, not all the
individual calls are beautiful, some sound harsh, others repetitive - some
are divine, like tinkling bells that ring in harmony.

Now imagine someone putting a huge sound-proof cover over
the tree. The birds can sing as loud as
they like, but no one hears, their song has been silenced. If that did happen the world would indeed be
a less wonderful. So as I think about
World Press Freedom day this week I’ll hold the image of the singing tree in my
mind and thank God that no one has ever tried to silence it - yet.

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Bristol

About Me

Painting of a curlew by Robert Fuller

Why a Curlew?

I love curlew, they have the most beautiful, haunting call, inhabit that wild hinterland between land and sea and manage to look comical and lovely at the same time. They are also associated with an ancient celtic saint. Legend has it that St Beunowas sailing off the coast of Wales and dropped his book of sermons into the water. A curlew flew down, scooped up the book and took it to the shore to keep it safe. From then on St Beuno blessed all curlew and said they should be protected for ever, hence their nests are really difficult to find.